


autumn is when leaves and love fall to the earth to decay

by abettafish



Series: stasis chamber [1]
Category: DreamSMP, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hearing Voices, Kissing, M/M, Panic Attacks, Phil is Not Techno's Dad, Threats of Violence, lightly - Freeform, this time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:08:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28830156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abettafish/pseuds/abettafish
Summary: Dream wassafe.Kill him.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: stasis chamber [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2120391
Comments: 16
Kudos: 736





	autumn is when leaves and love fall to the earth to decay

**Author's Note:**

> while writing the last bit of this, karl's stream came on and i heard dream's voice and simply had to stop because how do you write about a persons character being intimate when they are TALKING IN THE BACKGROUND - 
> 
> also, you all are going to have to get used to seeing this now:
> 
> dedicated to dark :)

_The trees are losing their leaves_ , Technoblade notes. A thin layer is already blanketing the forest floor, but the warm hues they’ve taken on do well to camouflage the reds and golds of his ensemble. He’ll have to change into something more subtle come winter when the leaves are eaten away by the hungry earth. For now, however, he idles in a still well packed tree.

A branch is slotted uncomfortably against his back, but Dream should be arriving soon. He had a gift for him, he was told. A gift and a promise of time spent close. They rarely got those nowadays, with Techno having a bounty hovering over his head and Dream sticking his fingers in more plots than one should theoretically be able to handle, but today was to be a peaceful one for both of them. His hands ached to feel the other in their grasp.

A twig breaking is like a gunshot going off to start a race. It’s followed by multiple pairs of footsteps entering the area and Techno finds himself shrinking against the tree for more cover. He recognizes the voices that accompany the loud walking and it makes him glad he is so well hidden.

“We’ve been looking for Technoblade,” Quackity says, voice serious with a dangerous edge. Tubbo is standing by the man’s side with a grim expression on his face. He is both surprised and _not_ by the third person in their party. Dream has his hands folded behind his back as he listens to the other speak. They must have discovered him on his way to Techno and, with this area being slightly out of the way of the SMP, they must have gotten curious. In return, Dream asked them why they were so far from L’Manburg.

He nods along, “Because of what he did during the fight against Manburg?” 

The pair confirms with nods of their own. Techno frowns – it was ridiculous being hunted like he was the only one who did something wrong. The man they were standing with currently sided with Schlatt during the Manburg fight. Typical hypocrisy.

“Well,” Dream says, “I promise to let you know if I find him.”

Techno’s body goes rigid. The air in his lungs becomes absent as he listens to the pair thank Dream before splitting off from him. His mind clicks on like a buzzing television with too much static clinging to it.

**Betrayal?**

No.

**He promised them.**

**He betrayed us –**

**They didn’t even have to ask!**

No.

**We can’t trust him anymore.**

**He knows where we live!**

**He’s a traitor!**

**Blood –**

_No!_

Techno grits his teeth tightly. Dream _didn’t_ betray him. He was just telling those two that to get them to leave him alone –

**He betrayed you, like all the ones before and all the ones after.**

His eyes snap to where Dream and them were all standing. No one is there now, and he scans the area for signs of movement. He finds none and, with shaking limbs, crawls down from his perch on the tree. The voices berate him with every step he takes. Techno wishes for silence as his temples begin to throb painfully, but with the way his heart and chest squeeze tightly against his insides, he finds it nigh impossible.

He needs to stop, to sit down, but the world feels like a lurking enemy against his back. It’s a vampire, stealing his vision and the air from his lungs. Every step feels like an earthquake going through his body. Techno stumbles into a cave, its overhang covered in moss and puddles of chilled water pooled precariously in the stone. He finds a divot in the wall where he can lean and force his palms against his eyelids and _press_.

**A bit like Tommy and Wilbur, isn’t he?**

**He is, yes.**

**Just a tool.**

**Just a tool.**

**The Blade! The Blade!**

**Blood for the Blood God!**

A long, suffering sigh spills from his lips like a fog rolling across the ground. Techno wanted, just once in his life, for silence. He wanted to think without the subtle influences of a hundred voices trying to sway him to their side. Dream was supposed to be safe.

Well, in the way Techno considered safe. The masked man had been the entertainment of many nights spent in his home, whether they were just talking or they were a hair’s width away from each other. The man had spoken his sympathies for Techno’s plights, even agreed to aid him in fixing them. He had given him ways to protect himself, even if Techno had to go gather the items himself. He had asked for a favor in return for the goods, but Dream had smiled against his lips moments after redeeming the indulgent boon.

Dream was _safe_. 

**Kill him.**

“No!” The shout echoes off the walls of the cave. He hears a series of small, nail like footsteps scurry rapidly deeper into the cave as whatever small animal is scared by his yell.

“ _No_ ,” His voice follows more quietly, more shaken. He couldn’t. Not after everything they’ve done together, said to one another. He’s seen Dream at his most vulnerable, with tears cascading down freckled cheeks and fingers trembling as he spoke about his dwindling vision for the SMP. Dream’s seen him in a similar fashion with bags under his eyes and insecurities whispered over his tongue.

**So what?**

**He doesn’t care.**

**He is going to rat you out.**

**A rat in our home.**

“How do you even know?” Technoblade hisses, “You always spout these things like babbling children trying to get the last word in. But how do you even _know_!”

**We know.**

**We know.**

**Blood for the Blood God.**

**You’re too easy.**

**Easy to betray.**

_That’s not fair_ , he thinks. They can’t use that against him. He doesn’t mean too be. He’s been trying so hard to keep everyone away ( **Except Dream** ) but they keep trying to wiggle their way into his life. If no one can get close, then he won’t be able to feel the sting when the inevitable happens.

**Dream’s inevitable.**

**Betrayal.**

**He’s going to betray you.**

**Just kill him.**

**Blood for the Blood God!**

He wants to hide his head between his knees and scream. Why can they never just help him? Only when he is wielding a sword does he hear cheering. He’s so tired of their constant droning. He wants to be wrapped up in a pair of sturdy arms and it feels like such a weak thing to desire.

But it’s what he wants, desperately so.

He drops his head to his knees, arm cushioning him from the hardness of the bone. The voices keep up their chanting as he lets his eyes slide closed. He pulls his mind away from the forefront to try and help usher in a little bit of serenity.

When he wakes, the cave is pitch black. He uses the wall to lead him back out and the night air nips at his nose and ears when he exits the threshold. The walk home is quiet, a few murmurs here and there, but peaceful – for as much as that word means to him. He knows he is close to home when the foliage begins to be covered by a light layering of snow, that keeps piling on until Techno is having to lift his legs to trek through it.

Home is a welcoming sight, and he enters the dimly lit house with a heavy, aching body. He ascends to where his bed is and he plans to collapse on the bed, except there is an obstruction in his way. A note, with a small box underneath. He grabs the paper and squints to read it in the low lighting.

_‘Where were you? - :)’_

The words sound sad, abandoned by their author like he was in that moment. Techno closes his eyes and swallows. He doesn’t even have an excuse to give the melancholy letters. He sets the note aside and pulls the box into his hands. Clawed fingers pry the lid off to reveal an amulet of sorts. It’s a glass sphere, just big enough to hold the Ender Eye floating in stasis within it. The trinket is attached to a silver chain, and another piece of paper is wrapped around the necklace.

_‘If you need me, break this.’_

He knows what it is instantly. Techno doesn’t know how Dream managed to get it working, which, judging by the note, it should. The tiny stasis chamber fits perfectly in his palm. It must have been a meticulous thing to create, hours upon hours of testing and work for something that could possibly be broken, shattered by a desperate fist.

A droplet of water appears on his fingers, next to the small orb.

**Tears?**

**Sad.**

**Technoblade is sad.**

**Crybaby.**

**Hush, leave him in his sorrows.**

The voices fade away, but not entirely, never completely, but enough to let him rest his head on his pillow – necklace clutched tightly in his grasp. His fingers flex, softly, then tense, then go back to lightly; the pattern like the waves on a beach and the beating in his chest.

A bit of the glass cuts his hand when he crushes the orb in his fist. The pearl is dropped from his palm so it can hit the floor, where it shatters and leaves behind a fluorescent green dust that swirls around Dream’s feet.

Techno rises from his prone position, but stays on the bed. He doesn’t say anything, allowing the other to gain his bearings. All that is heard for a few moments is breathing between the two, before Dream speaks.

“ _Oh_ ,” And it’s such a pity filled noise that it reminds Techno that he must look terrible, clothes damp from the snow and face glistening with tears. A pair of hands, warm and calloused from years of swinging an axe around, claim his face. He lets them, even as his minds curls away from the attention. He doesn’t need to be berated for letting a potential threat come to close to him.

The voices stay suspiciously quiet, this time, however. Like they know they’ve swayed his thoughts enough already today.

“What happened?” Dream tilts his face, so then it catches the moonlight coming in through the window and casts a pale spotlight across his features. Techno doesn’t know how to answer him, because Dream is part of the reason he is like this. He wants to demand whether he was serious, to know if Dream is just playing him like a chest piece in this game of his. 

“I saw you with Tubbo and Quackity,” He says instead. Dream’s fingers twitch against his skin. It feels like a damning reaction. Dream’s smart – he knows an accusation when he hears one at this point.

“You heard what I said,” Dream whispers and it sounds so regretful. It buckles his insides, folding his heart painfully.

He nods his head as he presses his face into the familiar hands. Maybe it’s him always getting too comfortable with the wrong people that causes this pain? He sets himself up time and time again for his heart to be chipped away slowly but surely.

“Would you? If you got somethin’ worthy out of it?” Techno prompts. He expects there to a contemplative pause, for Dream to flip through the items or promises he would sell Techno for. Instead, Dream’s arms slip past his cheeks and wrap around his neck, his body clambers onto the bed and slots himself into Techno’s lap. Techno’s arms instinctually curl around Dream’s waist, holding him close.

“There isn’t anything I value more than you,” Dream breathes.

**Liar.**

**You’re going to get hurt again.**

**Liar!**

Techno visibly flinches. His eyes screw shut tightly under the pressure that builds in his skull as the voices grow into a cacophony. Dream leans back, most likely to check on him, but he drops his head against his chest and pulls Dream closer. There is a pause before the other man dips his head down and rests a cheek against the top of Techno’s head.

“Are they loud tonight?” He asks. Techno nods against his chest.

“They’ve been loud since earlier. They’ve been sayin’ some rude things about you,” Techno tells him. Dream lets out a chuckle.

“Like what?” He asks gently.

“They told me to kill you,” Techno pulls and tilts his head to catch Dream’s face. Green eyes, illuminated by the moon’s gentle kiss stare down at him. For just a moment the stare is broken so then Techno can locate the white mask deposited on the sheets, before he is locked back onto Dream.

“ _Extremely_ rude,” Dream mutters. The other had learned about his long-suffering battle with the voices once while they laid side by side, bare bodies keeping each other warm. Dream knows about their blood thirsty tendencies that seep into Techno’s own actions. He understands what to expect. However, typically those emotions are directed towards a common enemy the two have.

A hand finds the roots of his hair, and gently drags along the length of Techno’s hair until it hits the top of his braid. Dream pauses, before fiddling with the band tying his hair at the end. Dream’s ministrations turn into untangling his hair with his fingers. Techno leans into the feeling heavily. Dream pushes against him, leaning him back to lay against the bed. 

_Oh –_

“I just need you to know,” Dream says above him, “No matter what I do, or what I say, I am _never_ going to betray you.”

Techno prepares for a chorus of voice arguing against it, but none come. There are just a few nonsensical whispers around the edges of his mind. Techno sighs in content.

“Thank you,” He says back, pulling Dream in closer. Dream chuckles.

“Although, I am going to have to get you another necklace,” Dream tells him. Techno lets out a nervous laugh.

“I’m sorry,” He says.

“No, you needed me, and this wasn’t a one-time deal. I want to be there for you every time I can be,” Dream leans down and rests his cheek against Techno’s chest, feeling the rise and fall as the other breathes.

“I wish I could give you something in return,” The pink-haired man tells him, running his hand down Dream’s back.

“You already give so much, let this be what I can give you,” Dream soothes him. Techno nods his head and it begins the minutes of silence that pass between them. It nice to be able to have that with Dream. Talking so much, all the time, can grow tiresome.

“Actually, uh, there _is_ something I can think of –” Dream’s voice drops, a bit of nervousness around the edges. He peaks at the other as they sit up; a light blush is covering Dream’s face.

“ _Oh,_ ” Techno breathes, before a wicked smile curls across his face, “If you insist.”

Dream is launched into a laughing fit as Techno grips his hips and flips Dream against the bed and underneath him. The pair waste little time, touching their lips together softly and letting their hands roam across soft divots of flesh. Dream likes to leave possessive, little bruises across Techno’s shoulders and collar bone, while the other enjoys the small, breathy gasps he is gifted with when he runs his nails across Dream’s back and thighs.

The expulsion of clothing is quick and laughing is heard into the night.

Phil visits early in the morning and is surprised to find Techno not awake yet. It’s peculiar, normally the other is up with the sun and working on _something_. He climbs the ladders to Techno’s room, not expecting to lift the trap door to the sight of a whirlwind of clothes scattered across the floor and two bodies on the bed with sheets tangled around them like a snake. An arm Phil recognizes as Techno’s is wrapped greedily around a slightly smaller frame, who is tucked almost perfectly along the hybrid’s side. 

“Gross,” Phil announces loudly. It was meant to wake the other two, because Phil has little time to let them dally about. Techno and him have important things to discuss today. It does its job, because the one being caged in by Techno’s arms eyes flash open, and for just a moment Phil has a cold rush travel down his spine. Then Techno’s arms pull the man underneath the covers, hiding the person’s form from view.

“Have some decency, Phil,” Techno complains, now also in the world of the waking.

“Put a lock on your door,” The other retorts and drops back down the hatch. He returns to the main floor, where he waits for the other two to reappear. Techno arrives first, looking up the ladder with a concerned face.

“It’s fine,” He hears a voice from above tell the other.

“If you’re sure,” Techno tells him. The green clad stranger slides down the ladder to stand next to Techno with a gentle smile on his face.

“It’ll be okay,” They confirm. The stranger is dressed in a plain green outfit with a small white shape held in their hands. Phil doesn’t get a good look at it, but he has a nagging thought that he should be connecting dots here. A quick kiss is placed on Techno’s cheek before the other ghosts from the house with a farewell to both of them. Techno turns to Phil, who has a Cheshire smile on his face.

It makes Techno narrow his eyes, “Phil, you’ve made my morning very awkward –”

Phil just starts laughing at the obvious blush on Techno’s face.

As Dream walks away, pulling his mask to fit snuggly over his face, he hears a muffled shout from inside the home –

“That was _Dream?!_ ”

And a laugh bubbles to the surface. 


End file.
